The voice of (one) customer.
The Firearm Blog covered Ruger’s poor Q3 results and the CEO’s letter to shareholders.
You can follow the link there to read the full text of the letter. The CEO acknowledges that Ruger completely missed the boat on polymer-framed, striker-fired handguns, the explosion of the CCW market, and the “black rifle” trend, and I quote:
“We plan to develop products for several of these markets.”
Good to hear; better late than never. He also says:
“We have initiated a formal product planning process and we are soliciting and utilizing the “voice of the customer” to help us determine key features on new products.”
Well, since you asked…
- Cool it with the extraneous “safety” features. You don’t need an integral key lock, magazine disconnect, loaded chamber indicator, fingerprint reader, iris scanner, breathalyzer, combination lock, and “DO NOT EVEN THINK OF EVER USING THIS GUN” warning on everything that leaves the factory. Well, okay, I know the warning has to be there because of an old lawsuit. But otherwise, a simple, user-activated manual safety gets the job done just fine.
- Start selling hi-caps for the Mini line. You already make the damn things, so there’s no R&D costs, no need to retool the production line (they’re probably sourced from an OEM anyways), no planning process. Just order up a big batch and get ‘em out to distributors. It’s a cheap, quick, easy way to show gun owners that the bad old days of Bill Ruger’s “no honest man” speech are gone. And they WILL sell.
- .40 and .45 versions of the SR9, and corresponding compact models, just as fast as you can get them in production. That one’s a no-brainer.
- How about a lightweight SP101? Aluminum frame and maybe a titanium cylinder? Worth looking into. See if you can do a .44 Special while you’re at it.
- Staying on the topic of revolvers, start building Bisleys with 5-shot cylinders in .45 Colt, .454 Casull, and .475 Linebaugh. There’s a whole cottage industry of gunsmiths doing custom conversions; I can name a half-dozen off the top of my head. The demand is there. Offer them in stainless with 5.5″ barrels and I’ll sell a damn kidney to get one.
- Do an AR-15 if you must, but I personally think that market is approaching saturation. Put a little effort into refining the Mini-14 instead, for the many AR haters out there.
- And finally, build the No. 1 in .303 British, with a 26″ light-contour barrel, open sights and Alex Henry forend. Well, at least build one gun like that. Just for me. Please?
I got one of their Accusport SS Bisley Blackhawks in 45 Colt with a 5 inch barrel (actually, might be 5.5 inch, I have to check)..
It sure is sweet. Might be my favorite out of all the guns I have.
If you ever get to the DC area and want to shoot it, let me know. But its not for sale. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever.
Pure bliss (actually traded a SAR-1 for it. As Kim du Toit advised me at the time when I was waivering over the deal, an AK is an AK. This is a thing of beauty.
Comment by countertop — November 3, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
Build a Mini-14 chambered for .30 Carbine.
That’s all I want.
Comment by Ahab — November 4, 2007 @ 12:03 am
The problem with what you want is, that’s not the way Ruger’s corporate culture thinks. For one, they’re worried about lawsuits(hence the markings/safetys/assorted bullshit), and second, Bill Ruger’s “No Honest Man” is still at the core of the companies view.
As for What to make - If they really, REALLY wanna make money - BUILD A $3000 DOUBLE RIFLE. It doesn’t have to be elegant. it doesn’t have to be perfect, but the demand for an “Everymans double” is out there. Ruger has somewhat picked up on this segment of the market(classic African Hunter) recently, with the introduction of the Number 1 in .450/400. Bring back the .404 Jeffery in the 77, and it should do well.
An SP101 in .44 Special(especially if it’s rated +P) is a fantastic idea. I’m a big fan of the 5 shot 44 snubbys, and with S&W and now Taurus no longer producing them, they should do a decent run of them.
Comment by HTRN — November 4, 2007 @ 3:11 am
I totally agree with you on the double rifle idea. SOMEONE will do it eventually, and Ruger is probably the best candidate among the major manufacturers.
I think the .404 Jeffery was shelved by Ruger due to the confusion over proper chamber dimensions. I don’t recall the details, but there are at least two sets of “correct” chamber specs floating around.
Comment by TD — November 4, 2007 @ 6:58 pm
Remington was well on the way of doing it - they were going to offer an Baikal double rifle for around $600, but that’s been vaporware for the better part of 2 years. The other thing is, it’s only offered in .45-70, and .30-06. The guys that buy these things(at least the guys buying them at a mid 4 figure price) want them in traditional calibers - offer it in at least .470 Nitro, and maybe .375 H&H and you’d have a mover. As to who will do it.. Ruger is a Strong possibility, but honestly, I think if anybody, it will be CZ, probably on one of their 12 gauge actions.
In the mean time, I keep dropping all my change in the “Get HTRN A Searcy PH” fund(5 gallon water bottle).
Comment by HTRN — November 5, 2007 @ 4:12 am
They think they can make fuel from horse manure… Now I don’t know if your car will be able to get thirty miles to the gallon, but it’s sure gonna put a stop to siphoning.
Comment by Woody Laborde — February 27, 2008 @ 3:31 am